A Moving Experience
by Dr. Jekyl
Summary: Aethyta gets a warm welcome on the evening she moves in to Benezia's room. Fluff.


**A Moving Experience**

She didn't have enough stuff.

It was obvious as she finished hanging her clothes up in the space that Benezia had cleared for her in the walk-in wardrobe. Aethyta's handful of nice dresses and suits hung, forlorn and huddling together for mutual defense, between the hordes of exquisitely tailored, carefully protected outfits besieging them on both sides. Shoes? She had five pairs to Benezia's five hundred.

And all that was _before_ she got to all the hats and gloves and scarves and fascinators and other accessories, box after box and shelf after shelf of crap that Aethyta'd struggle to name, let alone know how to wear. Aethyta, once she'd shoved her empty duffle bag up onto a high shelf, had a few pieces of decent jewelry left, and that was pretty much it. Her armour and most of her tech gear was locked away in the room she'd claimed as an armory, along with all of her guns but her lowest-cal sidearm.

Not really much to show for eight hundred years of life.

Really, though, if she was going to be limited to one gun, she would've liked her Growler at her side better than the Nova - it packed a decent punch - but Benezia was uncomfortable having guns around the house at all and compromise was the order of the day. Compromise in this case meant something good for concealed carry. Even if it left her feeling more than a bit exposed, not having her best shotgun in easy reach.

The little voice in the back of her head wondered, not for the first time, if this was such a good idea. It was all happening so, well, _fast_. Asari-asari courtships tended to go for years, even decades before either party was willing to consider a change in living arrangements. And yet, barely six months since the first time they'd fuc- slept together, and here Aethyta was, moving her things into Benezia's bedroom.

She hadn't hesitated even a single second when Benezia had made the offer, seemingly out of nowhere, just the other day. Well, no, that wasn't quite true. She'd initially thought the matron was being whimsical, in that way she seemed to get sometimes after a really good lay. But once certain the younger asari been serious, Aethyta had taken her up on it straight away. Why not, when it meant the chance to wake up each morning next to those tits, for however long it lasted? Damn. At this rate, that rack was going to be the death of her. A happy death, sure, but a death all the same.

And, well, it wasn't just the tits themselves she was looking forward to seeing in the morning. That smile, the one that made her heart hammer in her chest like she was a maiden with her first crush. That voice, the one that made her toes curl even when Benezia was discussing travel arrangements with an aide or lecturing one of her students about some obscure and seemingly pointless piece of protocol. Those eyes, brimming with fierce intelligence, but compassion too, and even, Aethyta thought, lately, affection. No, she _knew_ there was affection there. She'd felt it, deep in the meld. Maybe even lov-

_Goddess_ but she was getting melodramatic in her old age. Her kids'd never let her hear the end of it, if they found out. Best not to let that happen.

She closed the wardrobe door behind her and turned back to survey the room for a moment. More a suite than a room, really, with its own little lounge and a study and a library, all tastefully decorated in a fusion of modern and traditional styles, the odd alien artwork or artefact strategically positioned here or there to catch the eye. Off to the side was a bathroom bigger than some _apartments_ Aethyta'd lived in, complete with a tub big enough for five asari to comfortably relax in.

Or for two energetic ones to fool around in.

Now there was an idea.

"A credit for your thoughts?"

Benezia's bed was almost a sidenote to the room, a nest of pillows and blankets that, Aethyta had discovered, their owner invariably stole and tangled up around herself overnight. Not terribly accustomed to sharing, her Benezia. The bed overlooked the gardens through a full-height window of wafer-thin smartglass that Aethyta was arranging to have replaced with a dumber-but-more-bullet-proof one. No amount of arguing, however, had been able to convince Benezia to do anything to the skylight that took up most of the ceiling. She liked to lie back and watch the stars when she woke in the night, and felt even a kinetic field's almost unnoticeable distortion would ruin the view. Anyway, stargazing was something they shared. They'd spent a few evenings like that already, too tired from this, that or the other thing to do anything more than snuggle.

It'd all been very... nice, drifting off with her head on Benezia's shoulder, the matron's hand at her hip. Maybe even something else to look forward to.

Benezia herself could be almost a sidenote to the room today too. Loose three-quarter length pants and a tank top - it was hardly the kind of bedclothes you wore to impress or seduce, and a far cry from the silks the silks Aethyta'd found her lounging in when she'd snuck up here in the dead of night before.

Aethyta should have been disappointed, maybe, that something a little more exotic wasn't on display. But she knew it was, in its own way, a lot more intimate than racy underwear. The matron had to dress to impress pretty much every hour of every day; casual attire was not often an option.

Besides, Aethyta was rapidly coming to the conclusion that Benezia T'Soni, damn her, could make anything look good, even what was clearly just-lying-around-the-house, not-expecting-company gear - something Aethyta admittedly hadn't even thought Benezia owned. The thin straps of the top only served to highlight the length of her perfectly-toned arms, the expanse of her shoulders, the graceful arch of her neck and the hollow of her throat. It pulled tight across her breasts, the cut low enough across her chest to hint at cleavage without revealing too much of it. Her pants, a loose, drawstring affair in cream, pulled tight across her thighs, bared her calves as she sat, crossed-legged and propped up against several of the near two-dozen pillows that crowded the bed.

"Only one?" she countered easily.

Benezia smiled up at her and patted the bed beside her in clear invitation.

"I'm open to negotiation."

Stepping out of her shoes, Aethyta took her up on it, sliding up to lounge on her side next to the younger asari.

"What're you reading?"

Benezia angled the pad so she could better see.

"A live transcript of the current Mireli Cooperative debate," she said, returning her attention to the lines of text slowly scrolling up the screen. "They're considering selling a significant percentage of their eezo stockpile to fund construction of a new hospital. Currently they're reviewing production reports for the past fifty years from their refinery in Ashota."

Leaning over a bit closer, she could pick out words more easily, even phrases like 'key performance indicator' and 'selected enhanced revenue streams'.

"Sounds like..." Aethyta racked her brain for a suitable adjective, "'fun'."

"Mmm."

It wasn't an overly enthusiastic 'mmm', but Benezia's eyes stayed locked on the screen.

"If they vote in favour of this measure - and I believe they will -" Benezia continued absently, "we can expect to see price fluctuations on the galactic market in a matter of weeks."

"Oh. And that's... good? Bad?"

"It could be either," Benezia replied. "Good, most like. We're particularly well positioned to take advantage of any sudden drops in price."

"Buy low, sell high kinda thing?"

"Something like that, yes. We have a great deal of liquidity at the moment," Benezia said. Glancing over at Aethyta again and catching the disinterested look she wasn't quite quick enough to hide, the matron smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry - I'm afraid this may take a while. Please, make yourself comfortable in the meantime."

Aethyta bit back a sigh. Well, that didn't sound terribly promising, but what could you do? The matron had warned her, more than once, that she tended to take her work to bed with her. It wasn't her fault that Aethyta'd somehow got her hopes up that there'd be something, well, okay, _romantic_ to mark the occasion of her moving in. Start things out with a bang. So to speak. Maybe Benezia was having second thoughts? She'd seemed welcoming enough so far though. Just... preoccupied. And what she'd said hadn't ruled out the possibility of something happening when she was done with whatever the hell she was actually doing now.

With a mental shrug, Aethyta rolled back off the bed and onto her feet. She took a couple of minutes to put her jewelry away, and another few to find a home in the nightstand for her sidearm. Benezia paid her little mind, even after she returned from a quick pit-stop in the bathroom and began to strip off for bed.

Naked, she slipped beneath the covers, a move which merited a glance from the younger asari, but, disappointingly, no action from her other than to offer a few from her collection of pillows. Aethyta, after some fussing, arranged them to suit and settled back down against them, curled up on her side to face her bedmate. Who remained preoccupied.

She sighed.

Well, maybe an early night wouldn't be so bad. She'd be able to wake up, bright and refreshed early tomorrow morning for once, and, well, if they didn't end the day with a fuck, maybe they could start the next with one. Nezzie was that irritating combination of early riser and night owl in one body; Aethyta was pretty sure the matron would be up before her even if she was awake for hours after Aethyta herself had gone to sleep.

Besides, the view from here wasn't half bad, not half bad at all: the chance to really look at Benezia without being observed in return. The faint frown of concentration that knit her brow, narrowed her ice-blue eyes. The proud, straight line of her nose and jaw, and the sweeping arch of her crests. The way her lips pursed and parted as she continued to read, her tongue darting out every now and then to wet them.

Aethyta could think of much better things to do with those lips, that tongue. Hell, just the other day, before they left the hotel, they'd been put to that better use. Benezia had woken her up using just lips and tongue and teeth against her neck and under her crests, gentle but persistent, reflecting Aethyta's own pleasure back at her through the meld until Aethyta'd been sure she was either going to die or come from that alone, something that'd never happened before.

She hadn't died, but it had been a close thing.

There was definitely something to be said for having an experienced asari as a partner. Not that Aethyta was a blushing virgin by anyone's standards, but asari lovers tended to be casual flings, few and far between and over and done with in a few weeks - if she was lucky. Benezia, though, was pretty much asari-exclusive. And she knew a few tricks that Aethyta hadn't even heard about. Those lips...

Aethyta felt heat bloom in the pit of her belly and her nape at the memory, and shifted restlessly beneath the covers. Goddess, she could just about forget the early night at this rate. You weren't supposed to still be this damn horny at her time of life.

But if you paid attention to Benezia's lips, your eyes had to follow the dark, almost black stripe that cut through the lower one, and then ran down her chin, seemingly pointing towards her throat. And her throat - the skin there was so smooth and soft, almost as if it was begging for Aethyta's teeth-

"Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea," Benezia sighed, reaching over with one long arm to put the datapad on the nightstand.

Aethyta couldn't quite stop her guilty start.

"What?" she said, trying to school her features into something approaching innocence as Benezia settled herself back against the pillows so that they were more or less level. If Aethyta glanced down, she could just about see right down-

Warm, slender fingers caressed her chin, tilting it up so she was looking into Benezia's amused eyes. Eyes that were a little darker than usual, Aethyta noted, with a little thrill. Eyes that darted down to Aethyta's lips and back up, even as Benezia dropped her hand, trailing the backs of her fingers down Aethtya's throat, leaving it tingling in her wake.

"I've been reading that transcript since before you entered the room," Benezia said, her voice soft and husky. "But if you asked me what they were speaking about since you got into this bed, I doubt I could tell you."

With that, she closed what little distance remained between their lips.

The kiss was gentle and lingering, more of an invitation than a demand, the second invitation that night Aethyta was more than happy to accept. It always kind of surprised her, after centuries of turians and krogan and hanar, just how warm and soft and responsive Benezia's lips were against her own. But they were soft, and supple, and sweet too, almost as sweet as Benezia's sigh when they broke apart, as the flush purpling her cheeks and the half-lidded set to her darkening eyes.

She ran a hand lightly down Benezia's bare arm, smooth, soft skin beneath her fingertips, and smiled when she heard her bedmate's breath catch ever so slightly.

"I don't see what that's got to do with me."

"Everything, I should think."

The second kiss was more demanding, Benezia's tongue brushing against her lips until she parted them and allowed her entry. A hand found her hip, pulling her closer, the other slipping around to the back of her neck, rubbing slow, firm circles against the ridges there, until the pleasant tingle of anticipation turned into an insistent ache crawling down her spine. Her own hand found Benezia's cheek, traced the line of her jaw, lingered against the skin of her throat.

When they parted this time, she was just as breathless as Benezia. But she could feel the matron's pulse, racing beneath her fingers, and couldn't stop a smirk that came from knowing she, of all people, was the reason Lady Benezia T'Soni, one of Thessia's most lauded up-and-comers with more money than the goddess herself, got all hot and bothered.

"Yeah? Why's that?"

Her questing fingers found a sweet spot low on Benezia's nape that earned her a gasp that she captured with another kiss.

"Do you always sleep nude?" Benezia asked breathlessly when they broke once more.

The hand on Aethtya's hip slipped to grab a firm handful of her ass, squeezing it through the sheet, using it as leverage to pull them closer together.

"Maybe..?" she hazarded, not entirely sure where Benezia was going with this one.

"I'm not sure," came the reply, "that I can permit it in the future."

"No?" Aethyta laughed.

"No. Do you have any idea how hard it is to concentrate-"

Cool air hit Aethyta's skin as Benezia abruptly tugged the sheets down to bunch over her hip. The lost fabric at her back was quickly replaced by a warm hand, fingernails skimming lightly along either side of her spine, so gently Aethtya couldn't help but shiver.

"-knowing that if I were to peel away but a single layer of cloth," Benezia continued slowly, intently, "I'd have you laid out before me?"

A firm push sent Aethyta over onto her back, looking up as eyes dark with undisguised hunger raked over her body.

"Bare?" Benezia said, still with that soft, deliberate intent. Aethyta's swallowed hard, her breath caught as the younger asari reached over and ran a single finger down the line of her throat to its hollow.

"Willing?"

The hand slipped down to lazily caress her breasts, tracing the curve and shape of them, fingers lingering to tease nipples already taut and starting to ache. Aethyta bit her lip as she watched, silent but for the slightly ragged edge to her breathing, as mesmerised by the sight as by the touch itself.

"Waiting?"

The hand slipped lower, out of easy view, nails running lightly, erratically down her stomach, making her muscles twitch in anticipation of where the next touch might be. Aethyta looked back up to find her eyes caught and held by Benezia's. Pitch black, she could see herself, her own desire reflected in them.

"_Wanting_?"

Aethyta let her thighs fall apart as Benezia's wandering fingers slipped beneath the sheet, nudging it further down. Her breath caught as a groan in her chest as a single finger slid between her folds, running through the growing wetness there but carefully avoiding the places that most ached for touch.

"Bad enough to simply have you here beside me. Bad enough to have to watch you undress out of the corner of my eye. But that?" Benezia ducked her head down so that her lips brushed Aethyta's as she whispered the next words. "Sheer torture."

The words, the maddeningly light touch, the possessive look in Benezia's eyes; it was altogether too much to take. Aethyta surged upwards to capture her lips again, determined to lose herself in the feel of her, the _taste_ of her, crushing their mouths together with a hand at the matron's neck and zero finesse. Benezia groaned into the kiss, but immediately responded in kind, swinging her leg over to straddle Aethyta's hips, pushing her back down against the bed with the weight of her warm, supple body.

And what a body. From the tips of her toes to the peaks of her crest, there wasn't a part of her that Aethyta didn't love. She loved her neck, her shoulders, her back, her ass-

Benezia broke away with a gasp, arching her back, when Aethyta slipped a hand below the waist of her pants, took a firm handful and squeezed. She had a great ass, Benezia, almost as great as her tits, firm and round and tight. Aethyta liked the reaction from her first attack on it so much that she brought her other hand down to join in, kneading each cheek roughly, digging in her nails. Benezia's breath hissed by Aethyta's ear as she ducked her head back down again, pressing hot kisses down the line of Aethyta's jaw, her neck, her shoulder, lingering where the latter two met to bite down, almost hard enough to bruise.

Aethyta grunted out at the sharp spike of pleasure, turning her head to the side to try to encourage the younger asari's attention towards easing the hot ache in her nape. Benezia obliged, not with her teeth but with her tongue, drawing it over the sensitive ridges and folds with a delicacy that defied the roughness of her teeth and touch seconds before. When she pulled back, it was to blow gently against the trail of moisture she'd left behind, making Aethyta shiver once again at the sudden chill. That all only succeeded in making the ache worse, and she gave up part of her hold on Benezia's ass to find her neck again, trying to pull her back down. The matron though, had other ideas, pulling Aethyta's own head around and back into another kiss.

Aethyta could feel the hum of biotic potential rising beneath her skin, another layer of delicious anticipation that only grew when she felt the first press of Benezia's mind against her own, heavy with lust and cut with sharp urgency. She pushed back against it firmly, not giving any ground, not opening herself up at all, and chuckled at Benezia's frustrated sound.

"That irresistible, am I?" she asked, more than a little smugly when they broke again, panting for air.

Maybe, just maybe, it was the wrong thing to have said. Or maybe she said it the wrong way. Either way, Benezia stilled and shrugged free of her hand, sitting back to look down at her speculatively. Then, without breaking eye contact, she began to pull the flimsy top up, slowly, baring her skin by inches. Deliciously curved hips flowed into a taut stomach, the slate blue of her skin broken by a splash of dark, dappled markings that cut low across her belly and flowed along her sides. Aethyta followed the patterns up with her hands as the shirt was drawn ever higher, stopping just below her breasts. Where the shirt stopped too. And stayed, despite Aethyta's best efforts the contrary.

"Now that's just not fair," Aethyta murmured, dropping her hands in surrender.

"That was rather the point," Benezia replied with that damn mischievous smile of hers, and pulled the top the rest of the way off in one smooth motion.

Aethyta had seen a lot of tits in her time. Baratian, drell, asari, quarian - she'd seem them all. Held and sucked 'em all too. But good tits, like everything else in the galaxy, were hard to find, and Benezia put even the best of those Aethyta _had_ found before to shame. Still pert, even after all these centuries, and firm, yet soft enough to be inviting, each breast was a perfect, generous, overflowing handful, begging for Aethyta's hands or mouth, or to feel her own tits pressed up hard against them again - this time without the damn shirt or sheet in the way.

It was the work of seconds to sit up enough to grab her bedmate and pull her back down on top of her to do just that, revelling in the softness of her, the friction of skin against sensitive skin and the electricity of competing biotic charges. Their mouths found each other again, Benezia taking Aethyta's lower lip between her teeth and tugging insistently, sending another hot little jolt straight between her legs.

Another few seconds work, though, saw their positions reversed. Aethyta flipped the matron back down against the bed and pinned her, her arms at her sides, so she could take a few seconds to admire the view. And _what_ a view. Benezia's flushed chest rose and fell with each rapid breath she took, her nipples standing out, dark and hard, against the unblemished pale skin of her breasts, themselves framed perfectly by those flowing markings, so dark they were almost as black as her eyes.

Goddess, she could still remember, so clearly, the first time she'd seen Benezia's breasts in all their glory: the steam of the bathouse, water droplets dappling the matron's flushed skin, clinging to her nipples. Benezia had looked over at her and caught her staring and _smiled_ that damn smile of hers. Between the tiny hint of mischief in that smile and those tits, Aethyta'd had to make some lame-ass excuse to leave so she could run off to masturbate furiously in the blessed sanctuary of the dressing room. It'd been either that or dive right in for a taste, then and there, the presence of Benezia's minions be damned.

Well, no minions here.

Releasing Benezia's hands, Aethyta dove in immediately, taking one tit roughly in hand, the peak of the other in her mouth. Benezia's reaction to the attention was as spectacular as always: eyes closed, her whole body went rigid, arching up into the touch as if it were the only thing that mattered. A noise somewhere between a groan, a whimper and a breathless curse escaped her lips as Aethyta ran her tongue and her thumb over the twin tight buds, and she cried out, fingers clawing at Aethyta's back when she began to suck in earnest, stopping only to cradle her head to stop her from pulling away. As if.

She felt Benezia reaching out for her mind again, and considered, for a few brief seconds, resisting. Aethyta know from (extensive) personal experience that you could have a hell of a lot of fun without the meld. It was also one hell of a lot easier concentrate on what you were doing when you couldn't feel the results of it for yourself. And there weren't many pastimes Aethyta could think of that were better than sending a few hours tormenting the great Benezia T'Soni with every weapon in her arsenal, making her come again and again until she was exhausted, quivering and literally begging for respite.

On the other hand-

She glanced up, eyes finding Benezia's again. There was a question there, something almost pleading in the matron's gaze, and Aethyta was reminded that Nezzie, of all the partners she'd had, most wanted the meld. Benezia had even sometimes reached out to her when they weren't both trying to get off, which made Aethyta think that it was more for the closeness than anything else.

And Aethyta had kind of wanted an at least somewhat romantic evening...

Her groan echoed Benezia's relieved sigh as the full-body tingle of of the link establishing itself rippled through them both. Time slowed, for a few heartbeats, as her senses sharply intensified and her body lit up at the spike of desire, hot and urgent, surging through the link. The ache in her nape and between her legs redoubled, her breasts suddenly screaming for touch. When she breathed in, she could smell Benezia's skin and the light floral soap she used, underlaid by a sharp hint of sweat and the heavier notes of their growing arousal. When she moved her head to lavish attention on the matron's other breast, she could feel the first distant echoes in her own tits of the pleasure and relief the attention brought the matron, and hear the subtle harmonics in Benezia's low moan.

The intense moment of first contact faded quickly though, too quickly, and when she chased after more, deeper contact, Benezia withdrew, projecting her amusement and thrill of desire at Aethyta's frustrated growl. Always a fucking tease, Benezia. Teasing could get you into a lot of trouble though, if you weren't careful; Aethtya just wasn't sure if it was a good or a bad thing that Nezzie really seemed to enjoy the kind of trouble her teasing got her into.

Aethyta released both breasts, sitting back up and swinging off of the matron below her. She grabbed the hem of the Benezia's loose pants with both hands, roughly yanking them down and off before the younger asari could voice the protest at the loss of contact that flickered up through the link. It took only seconds to find the right set of holds to flip her startled lover over, pressing her chest-first down against the soft mattress and half-covering her with the weight of her body. She wormed a hand back between Benezia and the bed, seeking until she found and took a firm handful of tit, forced her knee between the matron's legs and up, and then pressed her lips to the back of the younger asari's neck until she squirmed, breathless and panting, her slick heat brushing Aethyta's thigh.

This time, when she pushed against the link between them, Benezia surrendered. Aethyta groaned as the matron's lust and pleasure and desire for _more_ poured into her, feeding her own until she could barely think for it. She followed it with a growl, biting down hard against the side of Benezia's neck as the younger asari retreated from her mental touch again, relenting only when she realised it was to take some control over the meld before they fell too deep, too quickly. Always a danger for them; a memory flickered between them of their first night together, when the first unprepared touch of mind against mind had snapped them together so quickly and intensely that they'd both climaxed then and there, without really laying more than a damn finger on each other.

The connection levelled out again, leaving her with just enough presence of mind to decide to leave that side of things to Benezia, otherwise helpless beneath her. She reapplied her mouth to the back of the matron's neck, feeling the touch almost as if it was applied to her own nape, teeth gently tugging against the delicate folds, hot tongue painting over the harder ridges lying between them, seeking out the spot that made her curse and Benezia arch and shudder, fingers digging into the mattress. She could feel the sweet friction of a rough palm against her breast, squeezing in just the right way, overlaying the feeling over her own breasts pressing flush against Benezia's warm, smooth back as the matron pushed the sensation towards her so. Every touch against her skin came with an echo, every throb of need reverberating between them growing stronger by the second.

She still wanted more though. Nezzie did too, as evident in the way her hips shifted, seeking out more contact against Aethyta's thigh, as the desire swirling across the link, toying with and building on and blending with her own. She wanted to take and be taken by her. Wanted to slip inside her as deeply as she could reach, until she could sense and amplify every tiny spark of pleasure her touch brought. Wanted to hold her tightly and watch and feel and know her as her entire being trembled and came undone.

"Wait."

The whispered word came from Benezia, but the shape of them formed on Aethyta's own lips, and the image of what was wanted flowed into her mind. She shifted her weight over to the side, raising herself up on her arm just enough for Benezia to turn over on to her back. The matron's eyes were full of desire as she looked up at her, a smile equal parts lust and affection on her lips. She caressed Aethyta's face, her neck, her shoulders before drawing her back down atop her, bringing their mouths back together almost delicately.

She wasn't sure who reached for whom first, but it didn't really matter in the end. Benezia's hand stole down between them, slipping between her slick folds, seeking without teasing this time. Aethyta mirrored the move, fingers circling the matron's entrance before they both pushed into each other, sharing a groan at the sudden slight stretch. They withdrew only to return quickly, twisting to seek out the spot that sent a wave a pleasure crashing through them both, the smaller waves, diminishing, reflecting between them in the space between their heartbeats. Benezia was with her, within her, all around her, the warmth and beauty of her mind growing tantalisingly closer with each thrust they made.

She could feel time starting to slow, every breath taking longer than the last, every shudder and sigh and silent plea distinct and perfect in each lingering moment. They cried out again, together, as she withdrew her fingers to run over the archingly hard bud of Benezia's clit, the burst of pleasure making her own pulse in sync, and again and again as the waves bounced between them, smaller peaks and troughs rising and falling in time with each thrust and retreat of Benezia's hand. The pressure was building there, and in their napes and behind their eyes with each stroke, and Benezia was so close to her, damnit, she just had to stretch-

The shudder rippled through them both when Benezia's free hand found the spot, high on her nape, that always made her knees go weak and pressed it in time with her thrust, with the stroke Aethyta made against her clit. A strangled cry on their lips as they moved together a second time, white-hot pleasure bursting behind their eyes, spilling over into each other. The third brought them close, achingly close, so close they could feel the edges of each other starting to dissolve.

With the fourth, time slowed again, and with the fifth, in the endless space between breaths, between heartbeats, they were together as one, lost in shared euphoria, the pleasure of one body welling over and pouring into the other endlessly and back again and again, growing each time until there was nothing but ecstasy, endless and awe-inspiring.

When she came back to herself, what seemed like an eternity later, she found herself pressed forehead to forehead with Benezia, the matron cupping her cheek as they panted together through the aftershocks. The boundaries between them were still fluid, and she could feel the lingering, pleasant spasms that still shook the younger asari's body as much as the way her own centre contracted tightly around the matron's fingers. With the physical came Benezia's growing sense of stated desire and contentment, and, behind that, her delighted, fascinated affection. It settled into the back of Aethyta's brain like a warm bath, and she couldn't help but send back in kind, part of her still amazed that it'd been her, of all the people in the galaxy, that Benezia T'Soni had invited to share a bed with her. And her amazing rack.

Benezia must have caught the tail end of the thought because her contentment became coloured by somewhat rueful amusement and she laughed, pulling Aethyta back down for a brief kiss before pushing her away again.

"Is that what I have to look forward to?"

"Didn't hear you complaining a few minutes ago," she replied, still a bit breathless. She quickly wiped her fingers on the sheet before bringing her hand up so she could give one of the matron's tits another quick squeeze. "The opposite, in fact."

Benezia swatted her hand away, wincing at the heightened sensitivity of her breasts, and withdrew her own fingers from Aethyta. They both sighed at the loss of the intimate contact, and again as the remnants of the meld wavered and broke.

"It was more of a rhetorical question," she said as Aethyta took the cue to roll off her. "Not a protest."

Aethyta lay on her back for a few seconds to catch her breath, shaking out the ache in the arm that had been supporting most of her body weight.

"Sounded like a protest to me," she said with a shrug. She rolled back over and allowed herself to be drawn up against Nezzie's side, laying her head on the matron's shoulder. "Can always stop if you like. No skin off my nose."

"That won't be necessary," Benezia said, a little too quickly; Aethyta grinned. "You know that I appreciate your attentions," she paused, and her next words were soft and uncharacteristically hesitant, "my love."

The quiet words took a couple of seconds to register. When they did, Aethyta looked up in surprise and found a hesitation in the matron's gaze that matched her voice, her eyes clear blue and slightly wary. That wouldn't do. That wouldn't do at all.

She slipped her hand around to the back of Benezia's head and pulled her down into the fiercest kiss she could summon, trying to put into it everything she loved about the matron: not just her body, but her laugh, her quick wit, her generous, giving spirit. Her reward was Benezia's startled gasp before the younger asari went pliant against her, returning the kiss with just as much fervour.

"Keep talking like that," she purred when they parted, breathless once more, "and I'm gonna let you 'appreciate my attentions' for a solid week."

"Just let me-" Benezia began, looking and sounding more than a bit stunned. "Just let clear my schedule first this time, please. Guildmistress Iklara still hasn't forgiven me for missing our lunch."

Aethyta grinned, as much at Benezia's growing smile as the memory of those first few days, when they'd barely even made it out of bed for long enough to shower - or for Benezia to summarily cancel all of her appointments.

"You do that."

She stole another quick kiss before settling back down again against the matron's side, letting the pleasant, contended fatigue wash over her. Her leg slipped between Benezia's, her arm across the younger asari's belly, hand resting between her breasts so she could feel the slowing beat of her heat. Her eyes were almost closed when Benezia pulled the sheets back up over them both, then reached over for the previously discarded datapad and called for the lights. A warm hand found the small of her back, lips pressed against the top of her forehead, and then she was drifting, asleep, bathed in the warm glow of the datapad and held gently in the arms of her lover.

Not a bad way at all to end her first night home.


End file.
